


There's Snow Place Like Home

by BonkyBornes



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, M/M, and make cookies, it's just a soft fic, please comment author craves validation, they build snowmen, they have two daughters, they're husbands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:21:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27830683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BonkyBornes/pseuds/BonkyBornes
Summary: James Buchannan Barnes, commonly known as Bucky to his friends, Buck to his exceedingly annoying husband, Papa to his two kids, and James only to his mother and Natasha Romanoff when she was particularly ticked at him, hated a lot of things. Bad drivers and traffic jams usually topped the list, followed closely by Christmas music before its season. The only thing he hated more than any of that was the snow.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 6
Kudos: 45





	There's Snow Place Like Home

James Buchannan Barnes, commonly known as Bucky to his friends, Buck to his exceedingly annoying husband, Papa to his two kids, and James only to his mother and Natasha Romanoff when she was particularly ticked at him, hated a lot of things. Bad drivers and traffic jams usually topped the list, followed closely by Christmas music before its season. The only thing he hated more than any of that was the snow. He could admit that it was beautiful when it fell and made evenings inside cozier and it made his husband happier than a kid with a puppy, but the moment he had to go out in it, that’s when his hatred began. It made everything wet and messy and if he never had to experience it again, he wouldn’t be upset. Which was why when he stepped out of the office and was immediately assaulted by a piercing wind and huge, wet flakes, he was deeply upset. 

Muttering to himself and trying to avoid the large piles of slush that had already coated both the roads and sidewalks, he began the process of hailing a cab. Because it was New York and New Yorkers seemed to grow even more vicious when the weather turned cold, four taxis drove past him and splattered the front of his favorite trousers with slush. He was in the process of trying to clean himself up when a fifth one sidled up to a curb. Giving up on his pants, he slid into the back and gave his driver the address. 

Normally, he would drive to work, but due to the world seemingly having a middle school grudge against him, the car had failed to start this morning and after the process of calling the tow truck, he’d been late to work. Add the long meetings and misfiled paperwork and missing lunch and then getting hit by the snow, he was having a catastrophically bad day. 

By the time the cab pulled up in front of the brownstone he was still amazed he could call home, the snow was so thick he paid his driver extra and trekked through the blizzard. He very nearly slipped up the stairs, only managing to keep his balance by pure force of will. 

“Papa! Papa!” 

He’d barely closed the door against the wind and taken a step inside when he was assaulted by two five-year-olds, each trying to jump into his arms. His anger at the snow and weariness from his horrible day at work evaporated instantly. Ignoring the wet seeping into his knees (his pants were beyond hope anyway), Bucky kneeled and folded Catherine and Helena into his arms. Ena pressed a sticky kiss to his cheek and Bucky thought a day couldn’t truly be bad if he got to come home to this. He looked up to see his husband leaning in the doorframe, towel over his shoulder, soft smile crinkling the skin around his eyes. 

Bucky could be fired, have his favorite pants set on fire, and be forced to walk home in nothing but his boxers during a blizzard of sleet, and still have that smile make his day okay. 

“We made cookies!” Cat told him, pulling attention back to the situation at hand. 

“Did you now?” Bucky asked, standing and hoisting them onto his hips.

“A snowman family!” Ena added, refusing to be outdone. There was blue frosting smudged on her cheek, which probably explained why her kiss had been stickier than usual. “There’s you and Dada and me and Cat and Alpine and Eva. We woulda made more, but Dada kept eating the dough.” 

He looked at Steve, who busied himself in adjusting the sleeves of his sweater. Eva ambled into the entry hall, tail wagging. She’d been Bucky’s present to Steve after he’d finished grad school. He’d since completed his doctorate and found work as a professor at NYU. She sat against Steve’s leg and Steve continued to avoid Bucky’s _look_ by scratching her head. 

The twins continued chattering, insisting on telling him about the entire process. It was very important for him to know that Ena had done all the icing but Cat had done the sculpting (with Dada’s help) and they were on the counter waiting for his opinion. Bucky set them down and they both took his hands, trying to pull him into the kitchen. 

“Let Papa take off his shoes and coat, first,” Steve said. Bucky blinked gratefully at him. “We’ll meet you there.” 

The twins immediately dropped Bucky’s hands and ran off. Eva padded after them. Bucky sat on the bench and bent over to untie his shoes. Steve was next to him when he stood up and he helped him out of his coat. Bucky leaned into the soft caress and barely waited until his coat had been hung up to wrap his arms around Steve’s waist and pressed his face into his neck. As he breathed in his scent of old books and paint, the tension he’d been holding between his shoulders started to melt away. 

“Long day?” Steve asked. 

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Now that he was home, it didn’t matter anymore. He lifted his head, pushed Steve’s glasses up and out of the way, and kissed him. 

“Papa! Come on!” Ena yelled from the kitchen. 

Bucky groaned. “Why did we adopt again?” 

He felt Steve’s smile before he saw it. “Because you kept harassing me until I said yes.” 

Bucky harumphed. Steve chuckled. 

“Papa!” 

“The Queens await,” Bucky said, reluctantly pulling away from the warmth that was his sweater-wearing husband. Steve kissed him again, just a soft press of lips, his bead scratching Bucky’s cheek. Hand in hand, they followed the sound of their daughter’s voices into the kitchen. 

They stood on their stools, almost vibrating with their excitement. Bucky stood between them and Steve stood behind him, his chin on his shoulder. Alpine looked up from where she was lounging on one of the barstools, hissed at Steve, and closed her eyes again, tail twitching irritably. 

“I hate that cat,” Steve muttered as Ena began the process of showing off their creations. Bucky nudged him in the ribs and Steve let out a little _oof_. Alpine had been with him since the end of high school, since before he’d met Steve. All she did all day was sleep and hiss at Steve. 

“This is Dada,” Ena said, pointing to the largest of the four snowmen. She’d used icing to expertly create his glasses and good lord, _please_ let those be elbow patches. He barely managed to contain his snort of laughter. 

“This one is you, Papa,” Cat told him, pointing to the slightly smaller snowman next in line. They’d used the icing to create his hair and Bucky would never tell them it looked bad, but it looked bad. Steve was almost giggling. 

Next came the two smallest, which looked almost identical. It was clear they’d spent the most time on their own iterations. Where he and Steve were all the same shade of blue, they’d used pinks and purples to recreate their favorite outfit of tulle skirts over leggings (of which they were wearing now). 

“I’m not sure why you two don’t already have your own business,” Bucky told them. “You’re obviously the most talented decorators in the entire world. In all my life, I’ve never seen it’s equal.” 

Ena giggled and launched herself off her stool. Bucky barely caught her and hoisted her onto his hip. Cat did the same to Steve, not wanting to be left out. Each of them clearly had their favorite. 

“What do you say we make our own snowmen outside after dinner?” Steve asked. He received a loud cheer in response. 

“Well, I’m not cooking,” Bucky said. While he loved cooking with Steve, he was too exhausted. “What do you want?” 

“Pizza!” Cat yelled. 

Ena nodded vigorously. Steve shrugged. If they ever wanted anything different from takeout, the solution was not to ask. The problem was, Bucky loved his kids too much not to give them what they wanted. So pizza it was. He set Ena down and nudged her towards the living room. 

“You two go play while Dada and I get things ordered,” he told them. They didn’t need any more encouragement to scurry off. 

As soon as they were gone, Steve wrapped his arms back around Bucky, pressing his chest against his back and resting his chin on his shoulder. “It must have been a bad day if you don’t even want to cook,” he murmured. “What happened?” 

Wanting his husband’s support, he caved. “Misfiled paperwork, shitty meetings, New York cabs. I had a headache before lunch even began. It was the worst day I’ve had in a while.” 

Steve’s lips pressed against his temple. “Why do you stay at that job if you hate it so much? I don’t think you’ve ever had good stories to tell about it.” 

Bucky sighed. “You know why. It’s a good salary, and Cat and Ena deserve a better childhood than mine.” 

“Even if we didn’t have your salary, they would, Buck.” 

Bucky turned around so he could rest his forehead against Steve’s shoulder. “I know.” 

“There’s a job opening at the science museum,” Steve told him. “It’s for a tour guide position. You’d get to talk about science all day.” 

God, would Bucky love that. No more suits. No more stuffy meetings talking about ways they could get more revenue. Sure, Bucky was good at his current job, but was that enough? But- “if I leave this job, will we be able to keep the apartment?” 

It had been their dream home since they’d first passed the building years ago. The day they’d been able to move in had best one of Bucky’s best days ever. None of their furniture had arrived yet, and they’d sat in the empty living room sharing cold leftover Chinese. 

“Buck, any place I get to share with you and the girls will be my dream home. I hate seeing you come home looking like you did tonight.” 

“Some of that was the snow. A cab showered slush all over my favorite pants.”

“Oh, you poor baby. How will you ever recover?” 

“Maybe if you kiss me, things’ll get better.” 

So Steve did, and things indeed were better. Honestly, nothing could stay bad if you had Steve Rogers as your husband. 

“We should probably order the pizza before the girls start wondering what happened to us,” Bucky said, reluctantly pulling away. 

“I wouldn’t worry about it, they’re probably deep into superhero Barbie. They were planning a new mission before we started making cookies.” 

Steve turned out to be right. When they finally entered the living room, their daughters ignored them. They waving their favorite dolls around, narrating a mission that seemed highly complex and probably way too violent for their young age. Eva was apparently a part of it; she occasionally opened an eye to observe what was happening and then went back to sleep. Bucky settled on the couch and watched them. Steve sat beside him, resting his head on Bucky’s chest. When the doorbell rang, Bucky almost let out an expletive that was definitely too violent for his daughters’ young age. 

When dinner was over, he watched Steve help Cat and Ena into their snow gear. They didn’t even wait for Steve to be ready before barreling out into the backyard. 

“Are you coming out with us?” Steve asked, pulling on his hat. 

Bucky shook his head. “You go have fun.” 

Steve gave him a long look before kissing him softly and following their daughters outside. Bucky went into the kitchen to put on the kettle to boil. While it was heating, he went to their room to change into a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Cup of tea in hand, he grabbed the novel he’d been meaning to start for ages and settled onto the couch. 

The only problem with this was that the couch was directly across from the window that faced the backyard. As much as Bucky tried to focus on his book, it was hard to ignore the scene of his husband being hit in the face by two well-aimed snowballs thrown by both girls (Bucky had taught them well). He only had to see Steve laughing to be able to hear it. Bucky spun his ring around his finger and returned to his book, looking up every so often to see how they were getting on. 

His tea was gone and he was about fifty pages deep when Steve walked in carrying both girls. All of their cheeks were red. Bucky got up to help Ena out of her snow gear and then carried her upstairs where he helped her brush her teeth and into bed. Already half asleep, she made it difficult for him to detach her from around his neck. Even with the practice he’d gotten from Steve, it took a few minutes to tuck her in. 

“G’night, papa. I love you,” she whispered, placing one last sticky kiss on his cheek. 

“G’night, love. I love you more,” he whispered back, brushing his own kiss on her forehead. She was asleep before he raised himself to his feet. 

He and Steve swapped rooms and then met each other in the quiet hallway. Steve took his hand and led Bucky back downstairs, where he started pulling on his boots again. 

“Come outside with me,” he said. 

“Steve, no.” 

“Please, Buck? Just for a little bit.” 

It was the look on Steve’s face, so hopeful and doe-eyed, that had Bucky break down and agree. Once his own coat, hat and gloves were on, Steve pulled him into the backyard. The storm had quieted. It still snowed, but the flakes were gentle and the wind had died down. It was almost nice out. Almost. 

There were two snowmen in the center of the yard. One of them had the biggest base Bucky had ever seen. His eyes flickered from it to Steve and he suddenly grinned. 

“With that ass, that snowman is most definitely a representative of you.” 

“Oh, is that how you want to play it?” Steve asked. 

“Is it playing if it’s the truth?” Bucky asked back, dancing away so he was just out of Steve’s reach. 

“If that’s the case, then the other one most definitely is representing you, what with how big the head is.” 

Bucky stooped down and grabbed and a handful of snow, quickly crafting it into a ball. It hit Steve square in the chest. 

Steve laughed, stooping down to grab his own handful. “You’re on, Barnes.”

Bucky easily dodged Steve’s pathetic throw and lobbed another snowball at his husband. This one hit him square in the face. 

At one point, the two of them ended up laying on their backs, staring up at the orange, grey sky. Steve twined their fingers. Bucky had two more thoughts before he let himself just enjoy the moment. First, he knew Steve was right; no matter where they lived, as long as they were together, they would be happy. And two, maybe the snow wasn’t so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> \- Bucky did end up leaving his job and was hired at the New York Hall of Science. In addition to leading tours, he helped curate new exhibits. He now comes home excited to share about his days  
> \- Steve was promoted to Head of the Art History department at his University  
> \- Soon after, he also opened his second showing in the local art museum  
> \- They didn’t have to leave their apartment  
> \- While Bucky doesn't explicitly like the snow now, he doesn't hate it. As long as he gets to hit his husband in the face with a snowball 
> 
> Love you all!


End file.
